Many fishing and Jon-type boats are factory-equipped with backless, bench-style seats that are uncomfortable and are permanently fixed in place, giving the user little flexibility when it comes to seating. Consequently, some fishermen have added more comfortable and functional seats to their fishing boats.
There are a variety of seat clamp assemblies available for attaching a more comfortable, backed fisherman's seat and associated swivel mechanism to a fishing or Jon-type boat. One option is to simply attach the more comfortable fisherman's seat, with or without a swivel-type base, to the existing bench-style seat. While this option provides a more comfortable seat, the seat is fixed relative to the bench-style seat (it cannot slide longitudinally relative to the bench-style seat). It may be desirable to move the attached fisherman's seat longitudinally along the bench-style seat to put the fisherman's seat in a more comfortable position for operating the motor or fishing or hunting on a particular side of the boat.
An alternative to simply attaching a fisherman's seat to a transverse bench-style seat is the seat clamp assembly disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,718,365, which shows a seat attachment assembly that is detachably secured to the sides of a boat, such that the seat rests above the height of the boat. Although such an assembly does offer certain improvements over factory-installed bench seats, it has numerous drawbacks.
First, because the seat rests so high relative to the boat (above the sides of the boat), it raises the center of gravity of the boat, thereby making the boat less stable in the water and more likely to capsize. Second, because the seat attachment assembly is attached to the sides of the boat, there is nothing to support the area under the seat (and the fisherman), creating a potentially hazardous situation should one of the rails or attachment screws fail. There is no structure of any substance for supporting the combined weight of the seat and the fisherman, putting tremendous stress on the rails and attachment screws. Third, the seat attachment assembly is only secured to the sides of the boat via set screws that do not extend into or through the boat itself, leaving opportunity for the screw and seat attachment assembly to slip out of engagement with the boat. Finally, there is no provision for locking the seat base (and attached seat) into place relative to the rails, which means that the seat base (and attached seat) can slide side-to-side while in use if the boat shifts or rocks in the water, thereby creating an unsafe condition.
Another seat clamp assembly is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,709,648, which shows a seat attachment assembly that includes a single rod on which a seat bracket can both slide and rotate. The single rod is fixedly attached to a lateral face of the factory-installed bench seat, such that when a seat is attached to the seat bracket, the seat can slide along the rod and move longitudinally relative to the bench seat. The rod also serves as an axis of rotation, allowing the seat to be rotated between an operative and an inoperative position. The seat clamp assembly of U.S. Pat. No. 4,709,648 offers limited improvements over factory-installed bench seats, but it also has numerous drawbacks.
First, the back portion of the seat base, or attached seat, is not secured to the boat or bench seat, which means that the seat can flip forward about the rod. If a user is sitting in the seat and the boat stops suddenly or slows quickly, the seat could flip forward and eject the user from the seat—an obviously unsafe, undesirable phenomenon. Second, the seat can swivel, which means that if a user swivels the seat one hundred eighty degrees to face backwards in the boat, the user could flip the seat over by simply leaning backwards in the seat—another unsafe, undesirable occurrence. Third, the seat base rests directly on the top panel of the bench seat such that sliding of the seat base may scrape, scratch, or otherwise damage the top panel of the bench seat. Finally, many transverse bench-style seats do not have front and back panels situated below and perpendicular to the top panel. Many seats are simply a flat, relatively thin member (a piece of wood or metal) extending across the sides of the boat with no structure underneath them. Seat clamp assembly of U.S. Pat. No. 4,709,648 must be attached to a front or back panel and would not work for the many boats with a piece of relatively thin wood or metal as its transverse bench-style seat.
Yet another seat clamp assembly for use with a bench seat of a boat is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,432,525, which shows a complicated assembly intended to allow an attached seat to move longitudinally along the transverse bench seat. The disclosed seat clamp assembly includes a wheeled carriage, springs, and threaded rods, among other components, making the assembly quite complex and bulky. Because of all the components included in the assembly, a seat attached thereto sits very high relative to the boat, which, when sat on, alters the center of gravity of the boat and makes it more unstable in the water. Furthermore, the large number of parts included in the seat clamp assembly makes it difficult to assemble and increases the likelihood that that the assembly will not function as intended.
A final seat clamp assembly is manufactured by Action Products Company and sold under the trade name “Release-A-Seat” (Model Number 5498 or 5498L). Other companies, such as Wise, Swivl-Eze, and Springfield Marine Company, may also manufacture and distribute a seat clamp assembly that is substantially identical to that sold under the “Release-A-Seat”trade name. Given the substantial identity between this variety of seat clamp assemblies, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the weaknesses and drawbacks of the “Release-A-Seat,” as discussed in the following paragraph, apply to these substantially identical seat clamp assemblies, as well.
As the name implies, a primary goal of the “Release-A-Seat” seat clamp assembly is that the seat base and attached seat be quick and easy to remove from the boat. Because the seat base and attached seat is removed at one of the two ends of the seat clamp assembly, a substantial gap must exist between the two ends of the seat clamp assembly and the two side walls of the boat. As such, the seat clamp assembly cannot span a substantial portion of the space between the boat's side walls, which results in limited travel of the seat base and attached seat. Also, the rear edge of the “Release-A-Seat” seat base directly contacts and slides on the top panel of the bench, and the friction that results from this contact may scratch, scrape, or otherwise damage the top panel. Furthermore, the “Release-A-Seat” provides no means for positively locking the seat base (and attached seat) into place, which means that they can slide side-to-side while in use, if the boat shifts or rocks in the water. Finally, a portion of a front rail hangs over the front edge of the top panel, which forces the seat to be positioned near the front edge of the bench seat, instead of at the center on the bench seat. Of course, the most safe and stable position for an after-market seat is at, or near, the center of the factory-installed bench seat.
Due to the weaknesses and deficiencies inherent with existing seat clamp assemblies, a need exists for a seat clamp assembly that overcomes the limitations and drawbacks of existing systems.